Midnight Flight
by The Winged Freak
Summary: From the eyes of Mr. Most Likely to Become a Cult Leader himself is Midnight Flight, a story about the feelings, thoughts, and actions of Fang after the events of the third Maximum Ride book. Will he succeed in helping Max save the world?
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** This is my first FanFiction in a longo time. Sorry if it's not very good, but hey, I'm trying my best. The next chapter will be longer. And I suggest that if you haven't read the third Maximum Ride book that you please do before reading this. Love Fang, so we'll be looking at this story through his eyes.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Maximum Ride.

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_He flew through the dark night, drops of water on his black wings as he hurtled through the clouds. He was Fang, "Most Likely to Become a Cult __Leader" according to Max. Ironically, he had become a cult leader via the internet on his blog. Kids all over the world were ready to fight against __Itex and stop the damn Schools from destroying his damn planet. Their damn planet. It belonged to the kids of Earth as well. _

_The rest of the Flock was asleep. Max was the leader and eldest of the Flock being fourteen. He recalled her birthday was only a few days away. Not __that the Flock would be able to celebrate it anyways as they were still on the run. He, Fang, was also fourteen, but was four months younger and Iggy __was two months younger than he was. Nudge was eleven, and more concerned about dill pickles and MTV than actually stopped talking for a while. __Plus Gazzy and Angel, eight and six respectively, who were the only related members of the Flock. Not to mention Total, a Scottish terrier, was Angel's __dog who they found at the Institute in New York. _

_They all had their special powers. Max flew at super speed and her insane little Voice in her head. Iggy, although blind due to a failed experiment, __was an expert bomb maker, listener, and cook. Nudge could feel people's vibrations off of objects they touched. The Gasman could throw his voice. __Angel had the most powers; she could breathe underwater, command fish, and read other's minds. He didn't have any powers; at least that's what the __Flock thought. _

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Ugh, I'm no author. Don't mind me; I'm just your average mutant. Just one of only a handful left in this world. Let's see… I got the characters, now the setting and plot.

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_Fang and the Flock flew all over the place looking for Itex but eventually, Max and Fang went their separate ways because of Ari – an exEraser who __was allowed to live after the experiment termination because of his approaching expiration date. Fang took the boys and Max took the girls. In LA, __Fang continued his blog and got help from locals who had read his blog. He eventually got out a mass email to kids all over the world to take down __Itex. Max was in Germany, trying to destroy the main Itex plant but instead faced her final test. The Flock was now desperately trying to save the __world. _

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This is crap. It sounds like a dumb book report. And Max never did tell me about anything other than her parentage and Ari, that hybrid son of… well Jeb Batchelder. I know I can't go on like this because I explain things so horribly, but it's Max's job. After all, our life story is in stores. Go buy the books (Yes, BOOKS more than one!) so that I can tell you _my_ story. Not hers. Every story has a love plot so…

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_He pulled her closer to him as she looked at him tearfully. She was so beautiful. And now, he could forgive her for taking in Ari. She was here again. __He leaned down to kiss her and this time she didn't fight to pull away. When their kiss was over, she looked into her eyes and told him honestly: "I __love you, Fang." _

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Ah… Poetry.


	2. Flying with Angel

**Author's Note:** Here it is, the second chapter! All I'm asking for is one review, one little review, and I'll keep on writing! It's good to hear from readers! I've decided to make Angel a little more grown up in this chapter than she is in the books, and Max's character is going to be a little depressed. I hope Fang doesn't sound like a girl...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Maximum Ride.

* * *

Silently, I angled my feathers so that I was flying downwards, my wings the only thing stopping me from hurtling towards the earth like a rock. I crossed my arms over my chest and closed my eyes before tucking my wings in. I felt wind rushing by me faster and I knew I was accelerating downwards at a speed over a hundred miles an hour. Suppressing a wild whoop of delight, I grinned widely and thought about how completely _awesome _it was to be a mutated freak. 

I must have flown through some clouds because I felt a rush of cold water on my face, which was almost frozen in the wintry night. My heart pounded in my ears. If only I could go as fast as Max could!

_Max…_

I swooped up suddenly, my arms thrusting from my chest and my black wings bursting from their resting place in my back. My bare toes skidded gently across the grass. Once more that night, my calculations have proved correct. I had gotten up at midnight and for the past hour I flew, dive-bombed towards the ground, and pulled up at the last second. The adrenaline rush was exhilarating. I hovered a foot around the ground and landed, withdrawing my wings once more.

Gorgeous, innocent, blue eyes stared at me from the trunk of a tree. Remember the six-year-old I was telling you about? Well, that's Angel for you. She walked out of the tree's shadows towards me. I felt an inward shudder about how much my poor baby had suffered…

_Max says the same thing too. About being her baby. I like being your guys' baby, you and Max would be awesome parents!_ She thought to me, using her telepathic way.

Just thinking about Max felt painful. She was so intoxicating. Glancing above, I saw one of her legs hanging out of the tree I was standing under. To distract my mind so that Angel wouldn't continue talking about her, I leapt forwards and grabbed her around her waist and flew off into the sky once more. Angel's small arms were wrapped around my neck tightly and we flew a couple thousand feet in the air.

"Fang?"

"Yeah?"

"I know about how you tried to kiss Max and make her cancel her mission so she could stay with you."

I felt that now was a good time to do what I did best. Stay silent.

"I also know that you don't want to talk about it, but she said that she loved you during her aw-pa-ray-shun – "

"Operation," I interjected automatically.

"– operation, but then she later denied it. Just tell her how you feel, talk with her about what happened. She won't admit it, but what happened in Germany affected her."

_I don't even know what happened there…_

"Then find out, Fang. Please."

She looked at me with pleading eyes and my own softened when I looked into the face. Angel was such a little girl and how strong she had been only made me love her even more fiercely. She pushed away from me gently and I released her from my arms. Her angelic, white wings spread open and caught the wind. We circled around the Yellowstone National Park, where I had decided we should stay for a while. I noticed an uncomfortable look on Angel's face and I knew she had been reading my thoughts after she began to speak.

"Also… Max feels like you are 'invading her personal space' because you make so many decisions for the Flock now then when you used to. It's because you lead Gazzy and Iggy over in California, I know that much. Also because you have so many kids listening to you over the internet. Do you want to take over the Flock?"

Take over the Flock?! Was she serious? But then again… it had felt good to know that so many people were actually listening to me. Did the Flock even want me as a leader? I knew that the Gasman and Iggy would probably follow me again, but it had hurt all of us to split the Flock apart. Even though it was all Ari's fault. I clenched my fists angrily, not trying to hide the sneer on my face; Angel could see it in my thoughts anyways.

"Don't say anything about Ari! He had protected us in the end! Even up to when he had expired. Please, it's almost Max's birthday. Make it count for her. And for the rest of the Flock. We need something happy."

"Angel… You've really grown up," I whispered quietly, although she wouldn't have heard it.

"I've had to if I'm going to help Max save the world."

I began my dive back towards our sleeping area once more, wanting to scream out in pain. Hurting Max was hurting me as well as hurting the rest of the Flock. But what could I do?

She had hurt me.


	3. The Indestructable Maximum Ride

**Author's Note:** Thank you, Thank you for all of the reviews! Yes, there will be lots of Fax in this story and I'm really sorry if there's too many cliffhangers. It just makes the story more dramatic! So let's see... How about we go for **_Fifteen_** Reviews this time?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Maximum Ride.

* * *

I dived a few more times, getting out all my anger with each sudden thrust of my wings as I neared closer to the ground. Max had willing kissed Sam, that frail, weak-bodied human, but why couldn't she kiss me?! Maybe she really meant it when she said that she loved me during the operation as a Flock member, and not as anything more. What if she felt like she was kissing her brother? I can't do that to her, but I will all the same. I have to have Max; she means so much to me. After all, she did kiss me on the beach, where I almost died. But I'm here now, and I love her. I need her to love me. 

After finally diving for the last time, instead of completing my dive, I opened my wings slowly and gently floated down. It had started raining and I spread my arms to welcome it. Funny how it perfectly fit my mood, right? Angel flew down beside me and quickly ran to the shelter of one of the nearby trees. I grinned at her and walked over to her.

"Alright, kiddo. It's waaay past your bedtime," I whispered.

She giggled and climbed up the tree as fast as a squirrel. Yup, that's my mutant Flock member. I stealthily walked over to the next tree, making sure my footfalls were absolutely silent and wouldn't wake anyone – especially Max considering how she and Nudge were sleeping in the tree I was in – up. I shimmied up this tree and went over to a branch near Max so I could listen to her soft breathing.

In California, it had been so hard to sleep without knowing she was nearby. At Lake Mead too when she had disappeared. I had been so scared… I didn't know what had happened to her. All I could do was fly. Just open apart my black wings and fly away from all of my problems. Too bad it wasn't that simple.

I watched her chest moving up and down, closing my eyes. I let my breathing slowly match her rhythm and before I knew it, I was asleep as well, dreaming about my beloved. There are times when I'm just a hopeless romantic, I really can't stop myself.

* * *

_She had pressed herself to my body and whispered that she didn't want me to leave ever again. I had relaxed and her in return before I promised I wouldn't. I needed to tell her that I loved her but my throat was too tight to speak. She ran away to hug Iggy and the Gasman and I let go of my composure, throwing my self to Angel and holding her in my arms. I thought I had lost everyone but the boys but we were all together again. _

* * *

I woke up from my memory of seeing Max again for the first time in weeks. Today was February 12th, 2007. A Monday. I hate Mondays. Tomorrow was Max's birthday. I smiled, remembering how Max had chosen her birthday. Jeb had told her she was born in February, but instead of choosing Valentine's Day, she had chosen the 13th. She had shown off her spirit that she wouldn't do the whole cliché romantic hearts and flowers birthday but instead have an unlucky number as her birth date.

The sun had risen now, it's pink and orange glow shining beautifully on Max's face. It was probably about seven o'clock now. The Flock would be waking up soon. I hung myself upside down on my branch taking care not to scratch myself and gently touched her leg. She instantly awoke as we were trained to do and looked around until she saw me. Her eyes softened slightly and I felt my stomach flip upside down – or right side up considering my current position.

"So… Have you picked that tree yet?" I asked, lowering myself onto her branch and flipping myself back over.

Max stared quizzically at me. "What do you mean?"

"You know… For our initials!" Smirking, I dodged her half-hearted swat at my head and jumped out of the tree, landing on all fours. Next thing I knew, I was flattened on the ground with Max's lightweight body on top of me. I pushed myself back up onto my feet and took off, running through the trees. Max was laughing and I couldn't help but laugh as well. Being around her made me feel… Cheerful. I can't describe it.

Suddenly, I felt Max leave my back and I stopped my run. She had stopped in front of a tree and touched it gingerly. I approached her and she took my arm and looked into my eyes. I hoped and prayed that she couldn't see what I was thinking. I couldn't let her know how much I loved her.

"Fang… I've been doing some thinking and I… I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I did to you when we were alone in that cave together before the Flyboys attacked the others. I don't want to hurt you. But I'm not sorry for taking in Ari. He really was good, Fang. He was good to the end. He was my brother… If Iggy had taken my Mickey Mouse alarm clock for one of his bombs I'd be furious with him but I wouldn't be able to hate him forever."

"Two things for starters: One, Iggy did use your alarm clock and two; Iggy never almost killed you multiple times!"

"You're hopeless, Fang! I'm trying to be serious with you, but you're acting like its some big joke!"

I allowed my voice to become cold as I stared down at her. "For your information, Ari trying to kill me isn't a joke."

She looked down at the dirt, breathing heavily. I heard her sniff quietly before putting a few fingers underneath her chin to pull her face up. The great, indestructible Maximum Ride was crying.


	4. Tears

**Author's Note**: Sorry all to keep you waiting! HOPEFULLY, I can post a chapter every few days or once a week from now on! For the next chapter, let's try and hit **50** reviews. ;) (I was pretty amazed with how many I have gotten for the last chapter and want to see how far I can go before I'm abandoned. Once I hit **150** reviews, I'll post **TWO** chapters worth! Also, I apologize for any OOC in here.

**Disclaimer**: I do NOT own Maximum Ride. Just the eventual plot.

* * *

Max had started to hiccup quietly and I didn't know what to do. I felt my cheeks turn red and I looked down even more, unable to move my hand from her chin. What could I do? I've never been the comforting sort and Max had never been one to receive help like this. Hesitating slightly, I moved my head up a little to look into her eyes and then I kissed her, remembering exactly what had happened last time I attempted this.

Her hiccups subsided and she put her hand on my wrist. I moved it away, thinking that what I did was wrong… again. Max smiled weakly at me and she touched my face gently with a quivering finger.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to her, causing her to shake her head.

"Fang… That night in the cavern, I… I acted wrongly. I was just scared, that if this turned out wrong that I'd lose not only my second-in-command, but my friend. But… you wouldn't leave again would you? You'd keep your promise, right? The Flock won't be able to bear to be split again!"

My jaw had dropped open. I know, Fang the calm, collected, unemotional bird kid was now in shock by what Max – the mutant and love of his life – had just said to him. Forcing myself to regain my composure, I kissed her cheek this time and when she didn't move away I pressed my lips to hers once more. She hugged me tightly and I stiffened up, unused to displaying emotion. I am unemotional, I am unemotional, I am unemotional.

Whatever.

I held her in return and continued to kiss her. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise as if someone was watching, but I didn't care. All I knew was that Max was here, Max was sad, and I had to take care of her. When we pulled away from each other I smiled and gestured to the tree she had touched moments before.

"How do you feel about this tree?" I asked her, getting a weak grin from her in return.

"It's perfect."

I flicked out my knife from my pocket and avoided Max's eyes when she looked at me questioningly. She had forbidden the Flock to keep weapons on them. I began to carve a heart on the tree and added my initial – a solitary "F" – along with a plus sign to it before handing the knife to Max. She added "M.R." to the tree and returned the blade to me. I kissed her again, and this time the words came to me so easily:

"I love you."

"I love you, too, Fang," Max spoke in return, squeezing my free hand.

Those five words had never made me so happy.

* * *

A few minutes later, we returned to the Flock who were in the middle of breakfast. Nudge tossed a wrapped up McDonald's wrapper at me and when I opened it, the smell of extra-greasy patties filled the air. Wrinkling up my nose, I picked up a patty and tossed it in my mouth, reminded of both the hawks I had lived with and when Nudge and I went dumpster diving shortly after finding out their cuisine habits.

I heard someone walking around as I relished my food, we hadn't eaten too much in days and I was starved. The "someone" must have tripped because I heard a muffled groan and the sound of a certain avian-hybrid falling on the ground.

"Oh F – "

"Watch your mouth, Iggy!"

I looked up from my food to watch this exchange between Iggy and Max, amused. McDonald Kabobs that Iggy had prepared for Gazzy to roast on the fire were now coated in dirt and the former had a frustrated expression on his face due to his blindness. I set down my meat and helped Iggy up, as he was closest to me.

"Thanks, Fang," he muttered after brushing her fingers on my arm. Was it to check who I was? Were his senses failing? I shook my head, _Stop acting like a Drama King_. He did sound nasally though; perhaps he was suffering from a cold. I should talk to Max later about stopping at the nearest Wal-Mart to buy some warmer clothes for the Flock along with some cough syrup. The Gasman was hurriedly preparing more so I asked him who else had to eat.

"Just me and Iggy," he replied. "He wanted to see if the sh – "

"GAZZY!"

"– food from the dumpster would taste better cooked like this."

"Who is teaching you that language?" Max interjected once more before I could reply.

"Funny things on the internet, like Explosm and Roosterteeth."

"It doesn't mean they set good examples! Don't let me catch you – or Iggy – using that language. Understood?" she glared at Iggy, but her look was unseen by him.

"Roger," they replied in unison.

I gave my remaining patties to Gazzy so that he could use them and Max up from where she was sitting cross-legged on the ground. We walked in the forest together for sometime until we near the tree we kissed by earlier.

"Max," I began, desperately thinking of how this would be the easiest way to tell her. Well, it's never been my way to break the news easily, better to just give her the facts. My voice hardened as I continued. "Don't you think you're being a little hard on the swearing?"

"Not at all, they're kids."

"I swear, Max, Iggy is the same age you are. Don't you think you should relent on him? I know you to cuss when you're pissed too!"

Angel walked through the trees; I could see tears beginning to form in her blue eyes. My heart nearly broke at what I had done to harm her.

"Please! Don't yell at each other! We're together again and if you argue again we could split," she spoke fearfully and honestly.

I opened my clenched fists and breathed deeply, closing my eyes. I was angry. Max was angry. Angel was crying. Angel was right. It was partially – only partially – my fault that the Flock had split in the first place. If that damned Ari wasn't there… Suddenly, a tear slid down the youngest Flock member's face. I bent down and held her close to me, murmuring apologies. I felt Max hold me as well and she began to cry for the second time this day.

When the three of us broke apart, Nudge stood nearby with a questioning expression on her face. Realizing my arm was around Max's waist, I moved away so that my hand was resting on Angel's shoulder instead.

"Are Gazzy and Iggy done eating?" Max asked her. Nudge nodded her head, speechless at what she had witnessed: Max the leader and Fang the insensitive breaking down into tears. "Go and tell them to pack up; we're taking off."


	5. Welcome to WalMart

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the long wait! If Max and Fang didn't seem that angry in the last chapter, they were and Angel was worried and wanted to stop the fight before it got worse. See last Author's Note as well! And I editted it! I didn't realize I forgot a sentence in the car scene...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Maximum Ride. Ever.

* * *

I had never been so angry at Max for yelling at Gazzy and Iggy. She was always trying to control the Flock's lives. Yet, we all loved her for it. But still… Wasn't it time that she lightened up a bit? I angled my feathers so that I could fly higher. There was a lot of pressure on Max, she still had to save the world and she only just started it. I was doing my share as well, but I had a feeling that something was going to happen so that I couldn't spread the word. I glanced at Iggy, who was carrying my laptop at the time, and wondered why on Earth we keep having the blind guy do things. I wonder how he'd do driving.

* * *

_"Iggy no!" Max screamed as they tore down the dirt road. Fang gripped the dashboard and grimaced. Maybe this was a bad idea. The whole Flock screamed in unison for Iggy to turn left and he obeyed, almost running over a squirrel in the process. _

_"This is worse than when Max drove!" Gazzy yelled in return, no longer feeling sympathetic for his blind friend to drive. _

_"I don't want to die!" Nudge and Total yelped in unison with Angel screaming her own lungs off. _

_Fang, sitting in the passenger seat, moved sideways so that he and Iggy were practically sharing the seat. He pushed Iggy aside not too gently and started to drive the correct way. He pulled over to a stop and the kids climbed out of the car._

_He felt Iggy glaring at him for saving the day, but instantly forgot about it as Max rushed into his arms and covered him with kisses…_

_Um… Fang?_ Angel's voice broke into his thoughts and he blushed. _Your thoughts are interesting, but would Max really do that? _

_I don't think so Angel,_ I thought in return. _But it's nice to imagine that!_

Angel began to giggle out loud and the other four hybrids plus Total looked at her.

"Fang was thinking about what would happen if Iggy drove!" she blurted and Gazzy, Iggy, and Nudge laughed hysterically.

Max shook her head solemnly and I thought one last thought to Angel: _Go hug Max._

She did so, and the smile on our leader's face was so beautiful.

* * *

We were headed for New York, and the further East we flew, the colder it became. I spotted a Wal-Mart below and reported it to Max and that became our first stop. After visiting an ATM, we walked inside, normal as could be. Unfortunately, Iggy began to have a coughing fit and all I could do help him was pat his back roughing alongside Gazzy. 

"Come with me," I told them and we walked over to the medical section. I hurriedly picked up some medicine that I had heard advertised recently – cough syrup, pain relievers, etc. – and rejoined Max and her group, dumping the syrup and pills into the cart. Then we picked out some new clothes. After spending an hour trying on clothes the final results were as follows:

Several pairs of socks.

Seven hats. (One for Total.)

Gloves.

Thick jackets.

A turtleneck, furry boots, and a trendy skirt with leggings for Nudge.

The same, but jeans for Angel.

Identical camouflage shirts, jeans, and black Nikes for the dynamic duo.

Jeans, a tight-fitting shirt (Damn), and combat boots for Max.

And naturally, all black clothing for me.

I think this trip was very successful. However, this wasn't to be.

As the Flock walked by the toy aisle, Gazzy picked up one of those giant bouncy balls (Why they have those at Wal-Mart I'll never know) and threw it at Iggy. Iggy instinctively caught it and threw it at me. Not paying attention as my mind was on Max's new outfit, the ball hit my back and I flung my arm out to attack the intruder and smacked the ball into a display of glass vases. Who put that next to the toy aisle?!

"Shit," I hissed and Max didn't bother to correct me as the dozens of things hit the ground. "Go pay Max, hurry! Gazzy, Nudge, run with me when I say so!"

Max, Iggy, and Angel hurried off to the checkout, but us other three stayed behind. I picked up the ball and started to toss it to Nudge when an employee (A rather large one I must say) saw us "playing".

"Hey you! Get over here!"

I ran past my friends and they followed as we took off towards the exit. I took off my jacket and backpack as I ran and unfolded my wings. As soon as I had escaped the store, I flung them open and took off into the early morning sky. I turned around quickly to see a blur of white wings and a blur of dark brown ones shoot by me. I shot the bird to the employee and security guards that had managed to take off after us.

_Max says to go to the tiny town we passed by earlier. The mom and pop diner we saw. _Angel thought.

_Affirmative, Angel._


	6. Birthday

**Author's Note**: Sorry for abandoning this fanfic! I was doing great on my novel though. Really really sorry all!

Also, I plan on switching the Point of View from who the story is from. So for chapters 6-10, Max will be the narrator of this story:D

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Maximum Ride or it's characters

* * *

I saw Fang and the other two kids gulping down cheeseburgers as if they hadn't had a real meal in weeks. Well, that was true. Holding Angel's hand, I squeezed Iggy's shoulder and walked inside of the diner. We three had left the Wal-Mart as soon as possible. We didn't want the employees to check the cameras. Plus, we really needed those supplies. We had already changed into our new clothes, but it was time to give the others theirs. Fang looked up at me.

"You got away? Good. Order a burger."

So sweet.

We sat down in the empty booth next to them and ordered our food before passing over the bags. Fang pulled out the cough syrup from his and a flash of concern flashed in his eyes. He tore off the sealing and poured out a dose into the cup.

"Give this to Iggy and tell him to drink it. I can't stand him coughing all night," he said, smiling another of his rare smiles at me.

I gave Iggy the cough syrup and he sniffed it suspiciously. I didn't really expect him to recognize it, we had never really been sick before.

"Drink up, it's cherry-flavored!"

"I'm not sick, and if this is cherry-flavored, it must be poison."

He drank it anyways.

* * *

That night, we all nested in some trees again. (Get it? We're birds and we – oh, never mind.) We set watches – Fang first, Iggy next, and then me – and I was getting ready to sleep. I shifted around for a while because of the branches scratching my head and closed my eyes.

I heard Fang shaking someone fifteen minutes later. Cracking open my eyes, I saw him whispering the words "Wake up".

"What do you want?" It was Iggy. They started to whisper louder.

"It's Max's birthday tomorrow. What should we get her?"

"How should I know?"

"I don't. I was going to get something at Wal-Mart, but as you could see. I failed to."

"Actually, I can't."

There was silence for a few moments.

"Sorry…"

"It's alright, Fang."

"Anyways, can you think of anything?"

"No, did you ask the rest of the Flock?"

"I asked Gazzy and Nudge when we were at the diner. We couldn't think of solutions. I'm going to fly again and go somewhere."

"Take care."

They stacked and tapped fists before Fang climbed down and took off silently into the sky.

Iggy turned and looked straight back at me. It was chilling, him knowing where I was.

"Go back to sleep, Max."

* * *

I woke up the next morning and stretched. My old shirt was thinning out and I needed to change into my new one. I grabbed the new shirt and walked away from the rest of my Flock. Finding a sharp stick, I ripped two slits in the back of my new shirt, big enough for my wings to slip through when I needed to open them. Just as I pulled off my old shirt, I heard footsteps approaching. I hurriedly pulled on my new shirt to hear those footsteps walking quickly away.

Damn.

When I got back into the camp, the first thing I saw was Fang's face which was a bright red. After meeting my eyes, he sheepishly turned away. I heard laughter coming from Angel, who was sitting on a fallen log. A questionable look appeared on Iggy's face, but I guess that Angel must have told him because seconds later he was laughing as well. A sleepy Gazzy appeared; I supposed that Nudge must still be out.

"Alright. That's no way to act to Max on her birthday. Cut it out," Iggy said as sternly as possible to Angel. He snorted.

I rolled my eyes, but its effect wouldn't work on Iggy because he was freaking _blind_!

"Happy birthday," Fang said quietly. He handed me a professionally-wrapped present from a Wal-Mart bag as soon as Nudge had appeared. "It's from the whole Flock."

As I unwrapped the present, I saw a small box. Inside of it was a locket on a gold chain. I opened it up and saw all six of our smiling faces on one side and a fan of six of our feathers on the other side.

"It's… amazing… How did you get to do this?"

"Well... I have my camera and I took pictures of us. Angel keeps one of our feathers each at all times. I took the photos and emailed them to one of the people who read my blog. He was good at Photoshop and I figured that this would be a good present from all of us. This way we're always together," he said simply.

I beamed at him and the rest of my Flock. I walked over to Fang and kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly. Stunned, he stiffened up and I proceeded to hug and kiss the other members of my Flock.

"Thanks, guys."

"So where are we headed?" Iggy asked this question.

"Let's go back to New York. We were safe there for sometime."

"Ah. Unfortunately, we must stop for some cake. I think we should celebrate a little."

* * *

An hour later, we were in the sky and flying high. Hey, I'm a poet and I didn't even know it!

Fang swooped by me.

"Iggy's right you know. The younger ones are tired of all this running around. We should relax a little… And try and settle down."

"About that night… I'm sorry for flying away."

"I put too much pressure on you."

"Alright, it's your fault!"

Laughing, I pushed him and he fell a few feet before shooting upwards again, grabbing my waist.

"Ah! Let me go!"

"Hmm… No."

"I take that back!"

"Oh really?"

The rest of the Flock saw us and joined in the fun and games.

"Red Rover, Red Rover, send Maxine right over."

Maxine? Fine, they deserve it.

I shot myself right at Gazzy, Iggy, and Fang who were all holding hands and smirking at me. Instead of breaking through the chain, I flew straight over them.

"Psh. Cheater."

* * *

"Happy birthday to you… Happy birthday to you… Happy birthday dear…"

"Max." Angel

"Max." Nudge

"Maxine." Gazzy

"Maxy." Iggy

"Darling Max." …Fang.

"Happy birthday to you!"

I blew out the candles while my Flock cheered around me and I grinned at all of them. The locket felt cool on my skin and I had never felt freer in my life. This was a good birthday.


	7. AN: Apology

SORRY FOR ABANDONMENT 

Really guys, I am. The truth is, settling into High School had been harder than I expected, plus my normal every day life was slowing me down to. Actually, excuses don't really cut it; I'm lazy.

It's also harder for me to write in first person so from now on the rest of the story will be in third person, don't worry it'll still be from the perspective of one of the characters. ;) Things are going to start shaking up and I promise a LONG chapter before Christmas.

If you still want to read this story after this message, remember to click that alert button! If not… You know what to do. L

I love reading reviews as always, so if you are new to this story and reading it for the first time, please submit one!


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